Oklahoma State Bureau of Investigation director submits letter of resignation

by Phil Cross

(FILE/KOKH)

OKLAHOMA CITY (KOKH) —

The director of the Oklahoma State Bureau of Investigation has submitted his letter of resignation. This is the second time that Director Stan Florence has submitted such a letter in the past year.

The OSBI will not confirm the letter’s submission saying that resignation letters are not public records.

The Attorney General’s Office told FOX 25 that resignation letters for the director of an agency governed by a board or commission would not be considered public records until action is taken on them by the governing body.

The letter was delivered to the commission early in 2017 and at the time Director Florence resigned, but then took back that resignation at the request of the commission that oversees the agency.

In July, the OSBI Commission approved that Oklahoma Attorney General’s office should take over the internal investigation into the complaints.

This week the Attorney General’s office confirmed it turned over a copy of the final investigative report to OSBI commissioners.

Commission Chair, District Attorney Mike Boring told FOX 25, “The Commission members have received a copy of the investigative report. I have reviewed it, and anticipate it will be addressed by the Commission at our next meeting later this month.”

The OSBI Commission’s request for the outside investigation also came after multiple FOX 25 Investigations into employee concerns. In May of 2017, FOX 25 reported about employee concerns about the mold infestation at the OSBI lab building in Lawton. Internal documents obtained by FOX 25 at the time showed agency leaders may have misled commissioners about the extent of the mold problems and the timeline of who knew what and when.

The OSBI Commission meets again later this month, but Commission Chair District Attorney Mike Boring said the agenda for the meeting has not been set and he has not received any information about a potential resignation.